Crating system for sheet material or the like



Dec. 8, 1953 J. w. MOCRACKEN 2,661,838

CRATING SYSTEM FOR SHEET MATERIAL OR THE LIKE Filed March 4, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR James W MrOavka J61 wi Dec. 8, 1953 J. w. M CRACKEN 2,661,833

RATING SYSTEM FOR SHEET MATERIAL OR THE LIKE Ja mas Vliflvgqaggw g 4% Patented Dec. 8, 1953 UNITED STATES EPATENT." OF FIC'Ef-if (IRA-TING SYSTEMFOR SHEET"MATERIAL OER-THE LIKE James-.W. Mepracken, Leechburgla. Appliea't-ioli Marcl-l i, 1952, Serial No. 274,726 4 10 :Claims.-- (01. 206 -60) This invention relates toa new crating'system for-"heavy material suchas steelsheetsiorsthe; like. More particularly, it is an improvement? upon my application Serial No. 226,443; filed May 15, '1951, and pertains to a new kind ofcrate made of a material like wood and to a new system oforating for handling or shipping flat sheet ma- I terial'such as steel Sheets having a high grade. finish.

For some time it has been customary practice for manufacturers of high grade steelsheets such as those made by cold rolling processes and provided with expensive and valuable finishes, to be shipped in wooden crates. Such sheets are supplied in a variety of thicknesses and of sizes such, for example; as six ieetby twelve ieetiour feetby ten feet, three feet by ten feet, three feetby' Y eight feet, two and one-half feet by eight feetand many others. Because of weight restrictions, for example, imposedby consignees or others the numberof sheets so shipped-and con-- sequently the weight, in a single crate'was not large. In some '-cases-the total Weight ot's'teel sheets and crate could not exceed about- 800* pounds.- it is evidenttherefore--thatthe"greaterthe weight of the; wooden" crate, the less-,=gener-- ally speaking, the weight of metal *sheets that'- could be shipped in that crate; -IVi'oreover,--prior crates, were very expensive,- difiicult to handle, in--= volved'eonsiderable fabrication; wereof unattrac tiveappearance and had relatively little "salvage: value."

III-the crating-systenrof this invention, a new crate -'-and;niethod of crating is provided having 1 crate standard materials can beused witha min-r imun'r of "assembly laborrequired therein: Suchlabor involves no more rip-or crosscut sawv ing' operations and the --nailingtogether. ,of the" structural .parts of the assembly Inthecnew crateq'there. is much less of a handlingiprgble'ml; because of theiroaterial reduction in the; Wei ji.

thereofand inthei amountoi labor required to.

construct, it. Altho-i.igh ,the' new crate .ljnay..,bel made right-side-up fromthe'he'g nn n in ne. eral the sideandhend railsj'thereof will 'be'united to form a rectangular, starting ira'mehtmwhich the ledge rail sections, the; bottom v.crosspiwes. andany. bottom ,railswill,beiapplieiibefore th portion of the incomplete assembly is tumedovc In the new construction, ,subassemblies', for ens,

ample, of theiside rail andledgerailsecticns may-., be. prepared beforehand for therapideompleticn of a new cratein whatever-smells rcquiredeflhefg' to fact as Skids. but also interlockrthe. .respectiue-s ledgeirails and" bottonLcrosspieces-to thelxbalancei of the. complete structure. ',By'providing.:in;the:.a new 'systemior thezuse of high grade structural side: rails. made of .a single'piece of vmaterial:likes;z green Douglas fir;- the new. crate fremainswela-n tively inflexible and yet retains enough':gi've1to i: withstand impact shocks which might; otherwise crack. or shatter part of .it. .i .Theremainder: of t the new-crate imayxbeconstructeda of i'kihldl'ied'if or air-dried or. green' lumbendepending IIIJOIlIthBiz-f purchase pricesat the timebeingurlnthejnevmr crate further, the relativelyfsma-ll" seetionzofathe'z side rails-makes a largersupplyzof suitable 'lume ber readily available therefor. In thEL'IIBWZ'COIl-iistruction, also, ledgerails of longitudinallyspaceds sections are provided'oniwhichside iedgespfrthe w. sheet-material rest to afford preventive measuresre against sagging oar-deflection ofthesheet-material 2- alongthe length thereof when in the'new cratew The metal binding =-strips 'thati are used inthe 'i older practice are;not required in this. new con-r: struction; Thesalvagevalue of the nevv 'crate is high relative to'other forms :of crates employed. The new cr'ate'is susceptible-ofbeinggiven an extremelyattractive appearance-at =low cost while at the same time protecting both' the finish-and the flatness of the'sheet material car ried thereby.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and from the" drawings, which are illustrative on-lm-in which:

Figure -1 is a plan view of the-lower portion of a new crate madein accordancewiththis invention;

Figure 2 is a view-:in side elevationof-the-erate l shown in Figure l with "top crosspi-eeesdnthe'ir relative final assembly positions and With -the'--' right-hand endof-thecrate as viewed'in Fig-urea in section taken-aloi'ig -line ZI JI-O'f Figure 1-;

FigureB -is a view in partial seetion'takenalong line irr -rrror Figure 1 after the'crate'in Figure l has'been-filled and the entire assembly thereof completed; Figure 4 is a perspective view'ofacornerof the crate shown in the preceding figures ;With the": side rail" broken and" theiiners"andsheet material removed; and

-Figure-5 is a detailed view'partially'in section of a variantfmeansfor holding. thesheetinate rial tightly in place inthe'new crate.

Referring. to .the drawings, in the new. crate. a pair of .Sidlffills in will in generah.determine... the height .of t the sheetamaterialvpacking spaces in the.cratewhen finallyhassembled as-shown-in l Figure 3. Lumber suitable for side rails comes in standard lengths such as ten feet which closely matches one of the standard lengths of sheets such as cold rolled steel sheets or" high quality which are generally shipped in creates. Usually. standard lumber sections such as two-by-fours will be utilized. Where not of desired section, a simple sawing operation on a power saw will prepare the wood for use. The lumber generally used will be dressed or at least semi-dressed lumber, although such is not necessary. With fully dressed lumber it is of course necessary to make due allowance for the smaller dimensions thereof. For example, a two-by-four after being fully dressed has a section one and nveeighths inches by three and five-eighths inches in normal lumber mill practice.

Side rails ii! are parallel and generally extend the entire length of the new crate. Each side rail i9 is preferably made of a single piece of highgrade lumber such as select structural green Douglas fir. Thereby, when the new crate is supported intermediate the ends there will be sufficient rigidity when the side rails are assembled with the remainder of the new structure to prevent any material deflection. At the same time, the relative inflexibility of the side rails H) is not so great that, with the remainder of the structure, they fail to provide enough yield, which generally can't be observed, to resist dam age under impact shock such as might occur ii the new crates are dropped as sometimes happens in the course of shipment.

Ledge rails i l may also readily be constructed of standard sizes of lumber. relatively short lengths, they can be made from pieces of wood which otherwise might have to be scrapped. Each ledge rail 1 i is composite in that it comprises longitudinally spaced sections Ha afiixed to the under side of the respective side rails IE by nails l2. Other fastening means such as wood screws, with for example, countersunk heads may be used but such a construction normally would add to the cost of the crate and is not essential. The height of the side rails 55.

that is, the distance between the top of the ledge rails H and the respective tops of the side rails It determines the space in the new crate avail able for liners, any tightening strips and the steel sheets to be shipped in the crate. Each side rail 10 and its accompanying ledge rail sections Ha may comprise a subassembly of any desired length. In that way, whatever length crate is required is obtainable by only cutting the subassembly, if required, to the desired length of the sheet material that will be shipped.

A plurality of spaced bottom crosspieces i i are employed as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4 along the length of the new crate finally being assembled. These bottom crosspieoes hi are affixed in place as by nails l5. Thus the upper surface of the bottom crosspieces as and the tops o1 the ledge rail sections Ila define a plane for the inside bottom of the wooden portion of the new crate and also define a supporting surface across and around the entire edge of heavy sheets being shipped therein. Hence, there is no sagging and the sheets remain fiat.

The bottom crosspieces It extend between the outer sides of the respective side rails 10 to the under sides of which they are nailed. The respective ends of the respective bottom crosspieces intermediate the ends of the crate fit into the spaces between the ends of adjacent ledge rail sections Ha. The thickness of the ledge rails H and of the bottom crosspieces it are prefer- Because of their iii) ably the same. Thus, the support furnished to the sheet material that is placed in the new which occurs around the edges is due to the action of the top surface of the respective ledge rail sections He which extend inwardly of the inner sides of the side rails id and. to the portion of the tops of the respective bottom crosspieces M which form a continuation of the clear top surface portion of the respective sections lid. The space defined by the inner of the side rails it: within the new crate will be taken up by the size of the sheet material placed in new crate. In general, the sheet material. so shipped has a clearance of one-oi .th to onefourth of an inch on each side b s. and the side rails it. Such a cl 'ance enabl the sheet material to be read ly placed in and removed from the new crate an the time insures the aforesaid support around entire edge of the sheet material.

The bottom crosspieces Hi at ends of the new crate, in the embodiment show extend beyond the ends of side rails 55; a distance equal to the width of end crcsspieces E? which are also made of single lengths of lumber. Further. in the embodiment shown, bottom if: are provided generally made out of a single piece of lumber. The tops of the bottom rails i5 bear against the bottoms of the ends of the bottom crosspieces i l and the bottoms of the ledge rail sections Ha to which and to rails is they are fastened by suitable nails. in general, in constructing these new crates, cement coated boy nails are preferably used to obtain the inc:v holding power thereof whenever the new crate is to be employed in connection with heavy duty service such as the packaging of steel sheets. In addition to serving as skids yhenevo that m or" movement is employed, the bottom a ls 56 also interlock the ends of the bottom sspicces id and the ledge rail sections Ha to the remainder of the structure of the new The end crosspieces il may be made from the same size of material as the side rails it and can be prepared from the lumber as a general rule simply by sawing it to length. Since steel strip sheets also generally come in standard sizes, it is again possible to have a stock pile of precut lengths of end rails H and bottom crosspieces i i stockpiled and ready for final assembly into a new crate as it is needed. Preferably, the height of the end rails (i will be the same as that of the side rail H) as shown in Figures 2 and 4. The end rails I? are affixed as by nailing them to the ends of the side rails 18 by nails 58 shown in dotted outline in Figure 4. The top surfaces of the end rails H are on a level with the tops respectively of the side rails it. Short corner strips of scrap metal may be made and nailed around the corners of the crate after the end crosspieces ii are affixed to afford somewhat additional protection at a prominent part to protect the crate somewhat more if it is dropped on its corner in the course of being handled in a freight or express shipment. Normally such corner strips are not required.

As assembled to the point just described, the new crate is ready for a bottom liner 26. These liners may be made of a good quality paperboard such as Upson board or wood fiberboard. One or both of the outer surfaces thereof may be decoratively finished and waterproofed to increase the moisture resistance of the crate. Such legends, coloring and/or further decorative effect as desired may also be placed thereon. Such liner boards as board 20 come in standard sizes green Douglas fir, said side rails being rectangubottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end rails aiiixed to the ends of said side rails, and top crosspieces connecting said side rails adjacent the tops thereof, said top crosspieces being generally positioned above said bottom crosspieces.

i. A substantially rectangular crate for sheet material or the like, comprising in combination, relatively flexible parallel side rails extending along the length of said crate, said side rails being of a material such as select structural green Douglas fir, said side rails being rectangular in section, ledge rails amxed to the. under side of said side rails and inwardly of the inner sides thereof, said ledge rails having longitudinally spaced sections, bottom crosspieces affixed. to the under sides of said side rails respectively to connect them, said bottom crosspieces being positioned in the spaces between said sections, the tops of said sections and said bottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end rails affixed to the ends of said side rails, top crosspieces extending between the outer sides of said side rails and affixed to the tops thereof respectively, and means for holding sheet material tight against relative movement in the space defined by the inner sides of said side rails and end rails.

5. A substantially rectangular crate for sheet material or the like, comprising in combination, relatively flexible parallel side rails extending along the length of said crate, said side rails being of a material such as select structural green Douglas fir, said side rails being rectangular in section, ledge rails affixed to the under side of said side rails and inwardly of the inner sides thereof, said ledge rails having longitudinally spaced sections, bottom crosspieces affixed to the under sides of said side rails respectively to connect them at and intermediate the ends of said crate, said bottom crosspieces being positioned in the spaces between said sections, the tops and bottoms of said sections and said bottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end rails afiixed to the ends of said side rails, bottom rails extending along the length of said crate and fastened to the bottoms of said sections and said bottom crosspieces generally in a position below said side rails, and top crosspieces connecting said side rails adjacent the tops thereof, said top crosspieces being generally positioned above said bottom crosspieces.

6. A substantially rectangular crate for sheet material or the like, comprising in combination, relatively flexible parallel side rails extending along the length of said crate, said side rails being generally rectangular in section, ledge rails of generally rectangular section aftixed to the under sides of said side rails respectively and extending along the length of said crate, said ledge rails comprising longitudinally spaced sections extending inwardly of the inner sides of said side rails, bottom crosspieces extending between the outer sides of said side rails and connected to the under sides of said side rails, said bottom crosspieces being positioned in the spaces between the respective ends of said sections of said ledge rails, the tops of said ledge rails and bottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end crosspieces connected to the respective ends of said side rails and closing the ends of said crates, the tops of said end crosspieces being generally in the plane of the top of said side rails, the bottoms of said end crosspieces being generally in the same plane as the bottoms of said side rails, and top crosspieces extending between the outer sides of and affixed to the tops of said side rails.

7. A substantially rectangular crate for sheet material or the like, comprising in combination, relatively flexible parallel side rails extending along the length of said crate, said side rails being generally rectangular in section, ledge rails of generally rectangular sections aflixed to the under sides of said side rails respectively and extending along the length of said crate, said ledge rails comprising longitudinally spaced sections extending inwardly of the inner sides of said side rails, bottom crosspieces extending between the outer sides or said side rails and connected to the under sides of said side rails, said bottom crosspieces being positioned in the spaces between the respective ends of said sections of said ledge rails, the tops of said ledge rails and bottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end crosspieces connected to the respective ends of said side rails and closing the ends of said crates, the tops of said end crosspieces being generally in the plane of the top of said side rails, the bottoms of said end crosspieces being generally in the same plane as the bottoms of said side rails, top crosspieces extending between and aiiixed to the tops of said side rails, bottom rails extending longitudinally beneath said ledge rail sections and the respective ends of said bottom crosspieces, said bottom rails being affixed thereto to interlock said ledge rail sections and bottom crosspieces to said crate.

8. A substantially rectangular crate for sheet material or the like, comprising in combination, relatively flexible parallel side rails extending along the length of said crate, said side rails being generally rectangular in section, ledge rails of generally rectangular section affixed to the under sides of said side rails respectively and extending alon the length of said crate, said ledge rails comprising longitudinally spaced sections extending inwardly of the inner sides of said side rails, bottom crosspieces extending between the outer sides of said side rails and connected to the under sides of said side rails, said bottom crosspieces being positioned in the spaces between the respective ends of said sections of said ledge rails, the tops of said ledge rails and bottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end crosspieces connected to the respective ends of said side rails and closing the ends of said crates, the tops of said end crosspieces being generally in the plane of the top of said side rails, the bottoms of said end crosspieces being generally in the same plane as the bottoms of said side rails, board liners fitting within the space defined by the inner sides of said side rails and end crosspieces, and top crosspieces extending between the outer sides of and affixed to the tops of said side rails.

9. A substantially rectangular crate for sheet material or the like, comprising in combination, relatively flexible parallel side rails extending along the length of said crate, said side rails being generally rectangular in section, ledge rails of generally rectangular section affixed to the under sides of said side rails respectively and extending along the length of said crate, said ledge rails comprising longitudinally spaced sections extending inwardly of the inner sides of said side rails, bottom crosspieces extending between the outer sides of said side rails and connected to the under sides of said side rails, said bottom crosspieces being positioned in the spaces between the respective ends of said sections of said ledge rails, the tops of said ledge rails and bottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end crosspieces connected to the respective ends of said side rails and closing the ends of said crates, the tops of said end crosspieces being generally in the plane of the top of said side rails, the bottoms of said end crosspieces being generally in the same plane as the bottoms of said side rails, tightening strips extending along the respective inner sides of said side rails, and top cross pieces extending between and affixed to the tops of said side rails.

10. A substantially rectangular crate for sheet material or the like, comprising in combination, relatively flexible parallel side rails extending along the length of said crate, said side rails being generally rectangular in section, ledge rails of generally rectangular section afiixed to the under sides of said side rails respectively and extending along the lengths of said crate, said ledge rails comprising longitudinally spaced sections e extending inwardly of the inner sides of said side rails, bottom crosspieces extending between the outer sides of said side rails and connected to the under sides of said side rails, said bottom crosspieces being positioned in the spaces between the respective ends of said sections of said ledge rails, the tops of said ledge rails and bottom crosspieces being generally in the same plane, end crosspieces connected to the respective ends of said side rails and closing the ends of said crates, the tops of said end crosspieces being generally in the plane of the top of said side rails, the bottoms of said end crosspieces being generally in the same plane as the bottoms of said side rails, board liners fitting within the space defined by the inner sides of said side rails and end. crosspieces, top crosspieces extending between the outer sides of and aiiixed to the tops of said side rails, and means for holding said sheet material and board liners tightly in place in said space.

JAMES W. MCCRACKEN.

References Cited in the file'of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 904,694 Hemmick Nov. 24, 1908 1,272,335 Fawcett July 9, 1918 2,321,187 Di Ci-cco June 8, 1943 

